Noah Morganstern
Portland, OR
Yale University

Last 5 blog entries: So many states, so little time! Boulder, CO (Day....still unknown) Day ??? - I LOVE Kansas! Day 25 - St. Louis Build Day! Day 24 - St. Louis! Gateway to the West!

Show latest update from from Noah's blog So many states, so little time! Well Bike and Build continues to be a whirlwind tour, especially now that we've left lovely Colorado and passed quickly through northeastern Utah and into Wyoming.  Despite the fact that we were in Colorado for almost a week and a half, it went by extremely quickly with more wonderful views and rides than I can recount. After the 4th of July, where we camped in an RV park in Kremmling, CO, we had two nights and a day off in Steamboat Springs.  What did I do with myself on my day off?  That's right! Riding bikes! I got to rent a really sweet mountain bike for the day for way less than the shop normally charges and explored the network of trails in the immediate vicinity of town.  After Steamboat it was back to camping, so now a quick photo tour: In Maybell, CO, we were faced with ferocious winds and the need to cook/serve dinner, so after cooking in the back of our trailer we went and sat under the awnings near the bathroom just to stay out of the elements.  After the storm passed, sunset was absolutely amazing and the whole campground was lit up with the colors of the sky.  After leaving Maybell we passed through Dinosaur, CO where Dinosaur National Park is located and into UTAH!  It was a long day, about 92 miles into Vernal, and the state sign was conveniently located at around the 60 mile mark--perfect for a second lunch stop.  We got our obligatory state sign photos then battled hot headwinds the rest of the way into the church. From Vernal we had a short day to Flaming Gorge, Utah which just so happens to be in Ashley National Forest!  (For those of you that don't know, this is a shout-out to my sister).  We expected to be closer to the reservoir so we could go swimming, but as it turned out our campground was still up the hill a few miles.  The weather was warm and calm, so we were able to get all set up, nap, and have the best evening camping of the trip so far.  Given the favorable weather, our evening included the obligatory elements of any good campout: a fire, s'mores, and good company. Two short days in Utah were all we got, but that also means more fun state sign photos!  The Wyoming border was about 15 miles into our ride today, after one of the big climbs but it definitely was not the last.  Lunch was at the top of a good long climb, where the views out over the valley were spectacular and the clouds in the sky surreal.  A group of horses seemed to be snacking on the hillside right above us enjoying the same view we were afforded by 3+ hours of climbing and descending throughout the morning. After lunch it was all downhill into Rock Springs, WY, but that doesn't mean it was easy.  It seems that more often than not the winds pick up, as does the temperature, and always manages to make us fight to reach our hosts.  Once we were within a few miles some much needed fast food helped boost morale, but confusing directions kept us guessing right up until we reached the host.  Warm showers, a nap and dinner provided washed all of our worries away.  Tomorrow's another century!  Eeeek!  We're headed for the Tetons in the next few days which means more beautiful views and lots of climbing!

Noah's bio: Hi, I'm Noah Morganstern and I currently live and work in Philadelphia, PA but I’m originally from the biking mecca that is Portland, OR.  I recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where I was an Architecture major and Spanish minor.   Growing up in Portland I was always into biking and the outdoors.   I played soccer and lacrosse in high school, but in college gave those up for distance running.  Going into my sophomore year of college, my friends convinced me to run a half marathon and one thing just lead to another.  I was in the Running Club for two years and then picked up cycling again after getting a bike and biking to work last summer.  One of my good friends, Leonard Kilpper, was the president of the PennCycling team and had been racing since his freshman year.  Since I had gotten back into biking and was really enjoying it, he coaxed me into joining the team with his epic stories of collegiate racing.   While I raced only one season, it was an amazing experience that has left me pining for more. It was from that same friend that I heard about Bike and Build.  He participated in the Boston to Santa Barbara trip the summer after our junior year.  At the time, I knew little about his trip other than the basic premise of biking across country with intermittent build days.  That summer I followed his blog religiously, each day growing more jealous as I sat indoors at work.  From then on I knew Bike and Build was something I needed to do. Having spent the majority of my life on the two coasts, I’m really looking forward to seeing the expansive middle of the country.  I honestly know nothing of it aside from photographs and anecdotes, so my hope is to take in as much as I can.  As tough as it’s going to be, I’m psyched at the thought of climbing the Rockies on a bike because the I know the views will be amazing, and then we get to descend! As an architecture student in Philadelphia, with so many run-down areas throughout the city, it’s hard not to notice the need for good quality yet affordable housing.  One semester the objective of the studio was to design a single-family rowhouse in an impoverished neighborhood near campus with the idea in mind that it would become a design-build, a project that opened my eyes to the impact just one house can have.   En route to becoming an Eagle Scout, I did a lot of volunteer work with my troop and through my school.  While most of that work was in areas other than building houses, my Eagle Scout project was a small construction project where I designed and built a bird blind on a wetlands site adjacent to a school.  That project, along with work in an architecture firm, taught me a tremendous amount about all the energy that goes into buildings, so I hope to share this knowledge with others and contribute to their efforts.

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